Report: Blogger gets visit from cops for Googling “pressure cookers” and “backpacks?”

Hotair ^ | 08/01/2013 | MARY KATHARINE HAM

[JimRed]

They asked if they could search the house...

"Sure; may I see your warrant? You don't have one? Then you may leave now. You are trespassing."

[Irenic]

This is what the trade-offs look like, and we have to decide if we’re comfortable with them.

No, I'm not comfortable with this trade-off. Not even a little bit.

[Balding_Eagle]

Suffolk County Criminal Intelligence Detectives received a tip from a Bay Shore based computer company regarding suspicious computer searches conducted by a recently released employee. The former employee’s computer searches took place on this employee’s workplace computer. On that computer, the employee searched the terms “pressure cooker bombs” and “backpacks.”

Very different than what whas reported yesterday.

It looks like her old company was just being cautious.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Welcome To The
Snail-A-Thon!

Please Donate
Click The Pic To Donate

[RedMDer]

WE are Free Republic!!
Please contribute today!!

[PowderMonkey]

"It looks like her old company was just being cautious."

Completely understandable. Come back when you have a warrant.

[cdcdawg]

If six plainly dressed guys get out of unmarked cars and approach my house, I am going to very seriously wonder about their intentions.

[Balding_Eagle]

“and was asked if they could come in. Sure, he said.”

No warrant needed

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

:: three black SUVs in front of our house; two at the curb in front and one pulled up behind my husband’s Jeep in the driveway ::

To start, the gentlemen should have been met on the front porch, 1911 in the homeowners hand, and told to move the vehicle that was trespassing in the driveway.

Next, ALL members would be commanded to appear on the fron line and questions will be answered there. The front door will be locked and the key pocketed.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

It looks like her old company was just being cautious

[null and void]

Very different than what whas reported yesterday.

It looks like her old company was just being cautious.

Assuming they weren't, um, pressured into providing their betters in The Government a fig-leaf.

Of all the people who've ever googled both "pressure cookers" and "backpacks" in the last year, Our Betters decide to noisily investigate a blogger?

Methinks they are trying to intimidate us into thinking we're all under the microscope. That would also explain why they so publicly demanded everyone's passwords from ISPs last week.

Pure Kabuki for the masses.

[null and void]

Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!

To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don’t add you to the list...

[Balding_Eagle]

Assuming they weren't, um, pressured into providing their betters in The Government a fig-leaf.

How would the government know to pressure the comapny.

I think this is just a blogger turning time theft from her company into a publicity stunt.

[PowderMonkey]

Never consent to a warrantless search of your home. Ever. To do otherwise is to grant consent to search for the "elephant in the breadbox." "Citizen! These bank statements and contracts on the desk of your home office appear suspicious. Accordingly, we're freezing all your financial accounts and contracts while we question your clients. Oh, and we'll have to seize all your firearms as well while we sort this out."

[LaRueLaDue]

This person has no survival instincts. There are so many things wrong with what he/she did.

1) Don’t let them in without warrant.

2) Using google. Don’t use google or bing, or yahoo, etc. Use Startpage or another search that encrypts the searches, and can encrypt the page visits.

3) If you are really paranoid, disguise the searchs with other words to make it seem innocuous.

4) Don’t use work computers for ANYTHING personal. Wait until you get home, where you can be protected by personal VPNs, and other encryption tools.

5) Don’t let them in without warrant.

6) Don’t let them in without warrant.

These people don’t have a clue...

[MissMagnolia]

Another bummer .... I really do need a pc for canning. I have not done any on-line searches since it appears lots of ‘monitoring’ of some sort is going on, nor have I purchased one yet because I would imagine stores might be reporting purchases of these items to some authority somewhere. If I eventually buy one, it will be using cash.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Read the whole thing because she’s a good writer:

The comment by Mary K. Ham that the story is well written is nonsense. It appears the subject searched pressure cookers. Her husband searched backpacks. And the story says one was recently let go and the Google searches for pressure cookers and backpacks were done at work from the same IP address. Yet, the story says she looked for pressure cookers and he looked for backpacks. One of the couple was recently let go. Unless both worked for the same company in the same cubical, the logic just doesn't follow. Crappy writing.

[Balding_Eagle]

Never consent to a warrantless search of your home. Ever.

That I agree with.

But he did, and did so willingly.

This is all a stunt to bring them publicity.

[Cheerio]

ANYONE believing this Admin when they tell us they are not reading your emails or your web browsing?????